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He said: “The more empathetic the partner, the stronger the analgesic effect and the higher the synchronisation between the two when they are touching.”

Dr Goldstein said the idea of the study came to him after witnessing the birth of his daughter four years ago.

He said: “My wife was in pain, and all I could think was: ‘what can I do to help her?’ I reached for her hand and it seemed to help.

“I wanted to test it out in the lab: Can one really decrease pain with touch, and if so, how?”

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THe more empathetic the man, the stronger the sense of relief

Researchers examined 22 couples as part of the study into “interpersonal synchronisation” where individuals begin to physiologically mirror the people they are with.

The phenomenon is seen everyday when people sync their footsteps with the person they’re walking with or adjust their posture to mirror a friend’s during conversation.

In the study, 22 heterosexual couples, between the age of 23 and 32, were put through a series of tests aimed at mimicking a delivery-room scenario.

The couples either sat together, not touching; sat together holding hands; or sat in separate rooms and repeated all three scenarios as the woman was subjected to a mild heat pain on her forearm for two minutes.

The study found when the couples were allowed to hold hands they synced and the pain decreased.